Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 876 - 858: Dangerous Mission!

After entering the warzone, Rocky went to see Karina, and she immediately requested to withdraw from the Allied Forces. Marshal Mannstein naturally understood that Rocky was trying to poach talent from the Alliance, but he didn’t care about it.

The Alliance did indeed value Karina, but no matter how much they valued her, she was still only a City Lord who had upgraded Sky City to a medium-sized city just last year. Losing her wouldn’t affect the Alliance much. Thus, Mannstein decided to treat it as doing Rocky a favor and intended to approve Karina’s departure with a simple stroke of the pen.

However, his adjutant’s reminder made Mannstein frown slightly. Although he could directly approve the request, he still needed to notify the Staff Headquarters because Karina was stationed at the frontline Mist Mountain City. If she left, someone else had to be assigned to defend the location, and this was something that had to go through the Staff Headquarters. Even if they wanted to conceal it, it would be impossible to hide.

This made things troublesome. Gihren, the Chief of Staff, had been openly and secretly at odds with Mannstein for a while now. The patrol team incident last time was orchestrated by Gihren, though Mannstein managed to deal with it using near shameless tactics. But this time, if Gihren found out Rocky had poached Karina, he would undoubtedly use it to stir up further trouble.

"Forget it... Since Rocky wants Karina, let him carry this burden himself."

Shaking his head helplessly, the overburdened Mannstein couldn’t continue helping Rocky with this matter anyway. He’d already approved Karina’s request, and even if Gihren wanted to make things difficult, he likely wouldn’t be able to escalate it into a major issue. Thus, Mannstein decided to let Rocky handle it on his own.

As a result, Mannstein swiftly approved Karina’s application and instructed his aide to notify the Staff Headquarters of the decision.

As expected, upon hearing the news, Gihren, the Chief of Staff, came to find Mannstein immediately. He spoke with unwavering conviction about the importance of Mist Mountain City, emphasizing how critical it was as a strategic stronghold. He vehemently requested Mannstein to rescind the approval and keep Karina in the Alliance.

Mannstein naturally knew the real reason behind Gihren’s actions. It was nothing more than an attempt to create tension between him and Rocky while also putting Mannstein in an uncomfortable position. This left the old marshal feeling rather helpless, but having been in his position for so long, he was already accustomed to such battles of wits and deception. His stance, therefore, remained resolute.

"Gihren, you know the relationship between Rocky and Karina. Since Rocky has spoken, it’s impossible for us to keep Karina here. Why not treat this as doing Rocky a favor? With Rocky’s character, he’ll remember this act of goodwill from both the Empire and the Alliance."

Looking at Gihren, who was urging him to rescind his decision, Mannstein spoke with a hint of fatigue.

"When it comes to major matters, what do personal feelings count for? Your Excellency Marshal, Rocky makes a request, and you simply allow it. If such a precedent is set, won’t others follow suit and leave at will? If this continues, what fighting strength would the Alliance even have?"

Gihren looked coldly at Mannstein as he spoke sharply. His argument was indeed somewhat reasonable—allowing troops to leave the Alliance recklessly could weaken the unity and strength of their forces.

However, principles are rigid, while people are flexible. Besides, not every principle applies to every situation—this particular matter being a prime example.

"You..."

"Your Excellency Marshal, I would like to ask, why hasn’t Rocky been arrested yet?"

As Mannstein was about to speak, Gihren abruptly interjected with a sharp question about Rocky’s arrest.

"He refuses to cooperate. What can I do?"

"Then have him arrested!"

"Alright, Gihren, since you feel so strongly, why don’t you personally go to Mist Mountain City? I’ll approve as many troops as you need, just bring Rocky in."

Seeing Gihren’s impractical demands, Mannstein played along, smoothly passing the responsibility onto him. This instantly left Gihren speechless.

Arrest Rocky?

There’s no way he’d dare. Rocky was the kind of person who had once even captured Gandalf, the Sky Alliance’s Chief Elder. If Gihren went to Mist Mountain personally, Rocky wouldn’t need more than two sentences before tying him up.

Of course, Gihren immediately understood that Mannstein’s suggestion was deliberate mockery. After letting out a cold snort, he said dismissively, "Your Excellency Marshal, in any case, I can’t assemble troops to fill Karina’s position right now. So her departure will need to be delayed for now."

"I’ll send Amuro to temporarily take over Karina’s duties. Once you’re able to reassign other troops, we can replace Amuro then. That’s the plan."

"No, we have more important plans for Amuro!"

Mannstein’s brows gradually furrowed upon hearing this. He stared coldly at Gihren, disappointment flickering in his eyes.

He couldn’t understand why Gihren was so insistent on fighting over this matter. Mannstein had readily approved Karina’s request not because he didn’t care, but because he wanted the Alliance and Rocky to maintain face. Anyone familiar with Rocky knew that even if the Alliance refused Karina’s departure, could they actually hold her back? Would Rocky hesitate to take her and leave outright?

Of course not! And if such an incident occurred, neither side would come out looking good. Worse still, the Alliance would find itself powerless against Rocky. During this heated counterattack campaign, should they truly deploy a unit to deal with Rocky?

Did Gihren not understand this? Or was he pretending not to, merely stirring up trouble for the sake of it?

Coldly staring at Gihren, Mannstein felt a wave of disappointment and simultaneously understood why someone so capable had only managed to rise to the position of Chief of Staff of the Sky Alliance.

Faced with Mannstein’s increasingly icy gaze, Gihren’s expression shifted slightly. After all, the man sitting across from him was none other than the Imperial Marshal, the legendary "God of the Imperial Army." His natural aura of authority was not something the average person could withstand. After a brief pause, Gihren softened and said, "Your Excellency Marshal, I’m not trying to make things difficult for you. It’s just that the Staff Headquarters indeed has further plans for Karina."

"However, since you insist on allowing her to leave the Alliance, I have no objections, but she must fulfill the tasks we’ve already assigned to her before departing."

"Alright..."

After listening to Gihren, Mannstein sighed. He could tell that this was Gihren’s true intention and considered it a form of concession. Under these circumstances, he naturally agreed to the condition.

Seeing that Mannstein had agreed, Gihren quickly handed over an action plan to him.

As Gihren had previously mentioned, the Staff Headquarters did indeed have further arrangements for Karina, and on this point, he hadn’t lied.